Eric

Will try to attend and bring my boys to see the craft and look for some mulberry imitations. If you have have 'em and spot us, please flag us down.

We were light on volunteers so every single person that showed up to assist was crucial to the completion of the planting. Everyone worked (and sweated) very hard. Once the planting was finished, we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the shade. I think we can all agree that once we cooled off, it was downright nice in the shade with a light breeze. All the fishing talk had me fired up to wet a line so after lunch I (foolishly) put on the waders and set out under the blazing sun. I cast a Live Target shallow-running crawfish crank and worked hard for a single bite, but finally had a boil behind the lure near some boulders. Gave it a sharp pause and that trigged the smallie to crush it. Had a nice fight and finally brought one to hand. Also found another mulberry tree full of juicy purple berries. Took off around 1:40. Thanks to John Loebach for assembling lunch and being such a great host, educator and motivator throughout the day. Thanks to ALL the volunteers. We really needed your help and you came through as always! Great to see some familiar faces and to meet some new folks. Always impressed with the kind of people that are attracted to the ISA. Top-notch in many ways ... from volunteer spirit to work ethic to fishing knowledge to gear. All pros in their own right. You can see the captions in the file names at the pics below.

I'll be there.

I've seen the injured geese too. I think I know which FP(s) you're talking about. It's a shame. Hate to see wildlife suffer like that. People throw stuff at them, let their kids chase them, run their dogs at them, hit them with their bikes, cars, etc. All the while the geese seem to stay close to the bike path and parking lots waiting for folks to feed them, or the ducks. Then there's the whole issue of entanglement in fishing line, hooks, garbage, etc. A few years back on Route 25 in St. Charles, a driver ran over an entire family of geese (adults and gosslings). If I remember correctly, it made the paper. There was outrage. Also in St. Charles, I witnessed a kid and his friend shooting at geese from the deck of a condo overlooking the river. You know, the nice condos where the old Piano Factory used to be. I took a pic of one of the kids as he was holding the air rifle and then called police. The police arrived within minutes. I gave them the unit #, my story and showed them the pic of the kid holding the air rifle! It was a gray area for the cops. When I called and followed up with a sergeant a week later he said they basically gave them a warning. Years before, same deal near my townhouse in West Chicago. Rich guy with an air rifle that lived next to the pond and couldn't stand the geese, so fired at 'em every time they came near his property. I called the local police AND filed a report with my region of the IDNR conservation police. Nothing was done. Again, I had a photo of the guy holding the air rifle in his backyard! I'm not fond of the geese, their noise, or their mess but then again I'm not going to start injuring them. Guess there's a respect for wildlife that was instilled by my dad at an early age.

Maybe those awesome Wenonahs will make an appearance. Envious after reading all the fishing reports from 'em! ;-)

We had four officers and seven members attend the outing with the following watercraft on display: > Mike A's NuCanoe Frontier 12 (fishing kayak) with trolling motor > Mike A's Wilderness Systems Ride 115 (fishing kayak) > Eric's Old Town Vashon XT Tandem (touring kayak) > Ed's Mohawk Solo 14 (canoe) > Eugene's WaterTender Sportsman II (boat) with trolling motor Think there may have been a few more out on the lake during the morning but that's what I saw around the launch area. It was a nice morning to meet up and chat about boats and fishing in a very casual setting. The weather was gorgeous and the water was refreshing. A few of the attendees fished Jericho Lake for bass and 'gills. My son Brent and I loaded up and hit the Fox for the easy mulberry bite. Brent boated 4 carp and 8 channel cats. I caught three smallies, including an 18", on the swim jig near swift water / rock. Thanks to Chicagoland Region Coordinator Ed Buric for putting the outing together. We should consider doing another one with more watercraft on moving water so folks can really test the boats in a river situation. Big difference when there's current involved! Was glad to see Steve "Spiz" attend and work the fly rod with friends. NuCanoe Frontier 12 fishing kayak Old Town Vashon XT Tandem touring kayak, Mohawk Solo 14 canoe, Wilderness Systems Ride 115 fishing kayak Mike A., Ed Buric, Eugene Collins Eugene Collins and my son Brent in Eugene's WaterTender Sportsman II John Loebach and Mike A. discuss bassbugging Mike A. working a bassbug Mike A. and his fully-rigged NuCanoe Frontier 12 fishing kayak John Loebach tries out the thrust on Mike A's NuCanoe Frontier 12 fishing kayak with trolling motor Even organizer Ed Buric in his Mohawk Solo 14 canoe

Responsibly and efficiently ... in Illinois? ;-)

Can we have a show of hands ... who is planning on attending and BRINGING a watercraft? What are you bringing?

I bought stickers for both of my kayaks at Gander Mountain in Geneva yesterday. Note: only register # 1 has access to the IDNR computer system. I had the list from kayakcrazy.com printed out with all my info and boat info and handed it to the cashier. She was super thankful and it expedited the process. As Bill Chase said, having your IDNR customer # from your fishing license is the quickest way for them to look you up in the database. The whole thing took only a few minutes and my two large hunks of molded plastic are now legal. Woohoo!!!

SUPER HELPFUL ARTICLE: http://www.kayakcrazy.com/p/content/content.php?content.86

Unfortunately, P&T closed their doors yesterday. So in essence, our sponsor and main draw for this event has fallen through. Of course, it's shocking news and we're all hoping it may be temporary. P&T was a great shop and asset to downtown Aurora. Charlie is a stand-up guy and strong supporter of the ISA and the Fox River. Saddened by the recent developments and hoping things turn around. Doesn't look like the Riverbassin' tournament will happen either.

There's probably a nice one hiding in the wheel well of that red Cavalier!

Good for you Terry!

I phoned Gander Mountain in Geneva this past week and they said the stickers come in July 1.

I kayaked and fished Jericho Lake with my youngest son on Thursday evening for 2 hours. The lake is very high this year. The little sand beach that we had all the kayaks displayed on last year is under water. The perimeter of the lake is very overgrown and it doesn't appear that it has gotten much shoreline pressure this year, aside from the easily accessible areas on the parking lot side. Caught 4 largemouth bass while fishing a blue and black Senko deep. One was a nice fighter at 18". The lake is still very clear but weedy. Froggin' would be a good bet along with wormin'.

Cool. Haven't seen many snakes this year. I gotta get more rural and away from the cities...

Thanks to all who contributed! We appreciate it!

Yes, very nice. Would be a good article for our Bronzeback Bulletin. Thanks for taking the time to write it Brendan. FYI his first mishap was in his jon boat. He came back looking for his gear and also flipped his kayak. Double "doh!"

Love the name. Sounds like it should be the name of professional bowler on the Simpsons.

Ditto. Thanks for sharing!

Nice! I like how you edited that first cast to be in slow motion. Nice kayak, congrats!

Good quality, American made, loaded with features for the angler. Very comfortable removable / adjustable high-low seat. Lots of storage. Many color combinations to chose from. Tracks well and due to its shorter length, turns a bit easier than the Cuda 14. More suited for our area (rivers) than the Cuda 14 but not as nimble as its brother the Coosa. Would be a nice boat for dual-purpose kayak fishing, i.e., flat water / moving water. Best bet is to find a local dealer that carries them and test paddle one. I owned a Cuda 14 and used it for kayak fishing on the Fox River as well as lakes and ponds. Loved the comfort of the seat and just the overall feel of the boat once in the water. Downside is weight / manageability when getting it to / from the water. The sit-on-top kayaks tend to be fairly heavy boats due to their construction. I'd bet there will be one available to test paddle at our upcoming event: July 13 (Saturday) at 8:00 AM “Float Your Boat” Event, Jericho Lake, Aurora. Meet at 8:00 AM or arrive earlier if you would like to do a little bit of fishing first. Paddle and Trail of Aurora will again provide a number of boats for us to try as will some of our members. If you have been thinking of canoe or kayak fishing, this is a great opportunity to try out some different boats and get some expert advice on getting started.

I dig the black and blue.

I was in downtown Geneva yesterday and a woman came up to me and started chatting about the Fox River and how high/fast the water is. She pointed to the dam and said, "My son is into whitewater kayaking. Do you think he could go over that?" Had to do a little explaining about the hydraulics of a dam and what a "keeper" is.

A 35 second logo intro bordering on the absurd. 3,500 CFS? Seems like it would be more than that. That's some crazy stuff.